Five-ingredients budget friendly dinners

Budgets are tight right now and we're all short on time and inspiration during a busy week.

So, here are some of my favourite five-ingredient dinners that are delicious, easy and will save you time and money in the kitchen.

Cottage pie with hash brown topping

This is a fun way to give a new spin to a classic cottage pie. It's easy, delicious and the family will love it. It also cuts down on the time and effort to make it, but using hash browns as the potato topping with extra crunch.

Ingredients:

1. 1kg beef mince (or mince of your choice)
2. 1 cup mixed frozen veggies (carrot, peas, corn)
3. ¼ cup gravy powder
4. 2 cups beef stock, warmed
5. 1 bag frozen hash browns

Pantry items: olive oil, salt and pepper, optional onion

Method:

• Heat a little oil in a large frypan and fry the mince (in batches of needed), breaking it up thoroughly and frying until the mince is browned and any liquid is cooked off.
• Add the mixed vegetables to the pan along with the gravy powder and stir through to thoroughly combine. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce is thickening and reduced to a gravy.
• Preheat the oven to 200C. Lightly grease a large pie dish and spoon the mince into the dish. Layer the hash browns over the filling — limiting overlapping as much as possible to avoid soft potato — and place into the oven to bake fo 25 minutes, or until the hash browns are crispy and the filling is bubbling. Serve hot.

Cheesy Moroccan spiced lamb filo pie

It's got all the makings of a,pie, but none of the pastry-case effort. The flaky pasty is a great way to change things up.

Ingredients:

1. 1kg lamb mince
2. 2 Tbsp Moroccan seasoning
3. 1 cup of grated haloumi
4. 6 sheets of filo pastry
5. 1 cup taztziki, to serve

Pantry items: olive oil, salt & pepper, optional onion, extra herbs to garnish

Method:

• Heat the oven to 180C. Lightly oil a deep sided pie tin or baking tray.
• Heat a little oil in a large frypan and fry off the mince (in batches if needed) until thoroughly broken up, browned and any liquid is cooked off.
• Add the Moroccan spice mix and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the spices are fragrant, then add the grated halloumi and stir though. Set aside.
• Scrunch sheets of filo pastry into long, thin strips and lay them side by side in the pan to create long, folded pockets.
• Spoon the mince mixture into the pockets in the pastry to fill the gaps. Use up all the mince, making sure the pastry pops up between the filling for crunchy results. Brush the protruding pastry lightly with a little oil and then bake at 180C for 20-25minutes, or until the pastry is crispy and browned. Serve the pie with dollops of herby tzatziki on top.

Creamy mushroom gnocchi

This is a decadent dinner full of rich flavours, without any hard work and just a handful of ingredients. It's fancy food made very simple.

Ingredients:

1. 500g sliced mushrooms of choice (brown mushrooms are very good)
2. 1 cup thickened cream
3. 2 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
4. 2 cups baby spinach, finely sliced
5. 500g potato gnocchi

Pantry items: olive oil, salt & pepper, optional lemon zest

Method:

• Cook the gnocchi in a large pot of boiling water until just al dente,
• Heat a large frypan on medium heat. Add a splash of pasta cooking water and the sliced mushrooms and cook until the water is cooked off and the mushrooms are softening.
• Add the spinach, cream and mustard to the mushroom pan and stir through, cooking until the spinach is just wilted and the cream and mushrooms are warmed through.
• Drain the cooked gnocchi thoroughly and toss through the mushroom sauce. Serve warm with an optional drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of lemon zest.

One pan baked chicken and rice

Baking you rice in the same pan the base ingredients are fried off in creates a dish where all the flavours are sicked right into the rice. Using the oil from the jsr of grilled vegetables add extra flavour to the mix and saves on waste.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup mixed grilled veggies in oil from a jar - grilled mixed Mediterranean veggies work well
2. 1 Tbsp Tuscan spice (or spice blend of your choice)
3. 1-1.5kg of chicken portions, skin on
4. 1½ cups medium grain rice
5. 1L chicken stock, warmed

Pantry items: olive oil, salt & pepper, optional lemon wedges to serve

Method:

• Rub the chicken pieces with Tuscan spice mix and a little olive oil and set aside until needed.
• Heat an oven-proof casserole dish and add 2 tablespoons of the oil from the grilled vegetable jar to the pan and use it to brown the chicken pieces in batches. Set the chicken pieces aside.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Add the grilled vegetables and the rest of their oil to the pan. Add the rice and brown it off a little and to start the cooking process. Nestle the chicken pieces on top of the rice, then pour over the warmed stock and cover the pan tightly with foil and a lid. Bake at 180C for 40 minutes, checking at the 30 minute mark to see if more liquid is needed. Serve hot with optional lemon wedges.

Jane de Graaff is Today's kitchen expert, food writer and recipe developer and content creator for fun family recipes of all kinds.

Find all Jane's food adventures, tricks and tips on Instagramand TikTok